SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.- Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP welcomed the announcement of a $916,000 grant from the Australian Research Council for an exciting project by the City of Sydney to develop an online Dictionary of Sydney in partnership with the University of Sydney, State Records of NSW and the State Library of NSW.

From art and architecture to people and politics, to waterways and wildlife, the dictionary will include entries on wide ranging topics from prehistory to the present covering the greater Sydney metropolitan area.

"The grant is a substantial addition to the existing funds committed by the City and will help develop Sydney's first online dictionary."

"This is a long term project which will bring together hundreds of historians, academics and cultural institutions to create an invaluable resource for tourists, the community and educational institutions."

"A Management Board chaired by the City Historian, Dr Shirley Fitzgerald, has been active for more than a year and will oversee the rollout of the project which is expected to happen during the next three years," said Ms Moore.

The dictionary will allow people to search for specific information and also browse through layers of Sydney's history and recent events. It will include primary sources, bibliography material and multimedia resources such as images, maps, databases and movies.

City of Sydney staff will be working with other key bodies to bring the massive project together.

Members of the public will be also be able to submit suggestions for the Dictionary which will be reviewed by the Board.